Automatic page turning apparatus



Aug. 4, 1959 7 Filed Nov. 13, 1956 C. H. RUSSELL AUTOMATIC PAGE TURNINGAPPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 4, 1959 c. H. RUSSELL AUTOMATIC PAGETURNING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Nov. 13, 1956 MOTOR TRF\\N UnitedStates Patent ()mce 2,897,618 Patented Aug. 1959 The present inventionis concerned with an improvement in an automatic page turning apparatusprimarily an improved "adjusting device for varying the pressure appliedto the gummed pressure foot which sticks to the individual pages and isa part of the turning device.

While there have been automatic page turningdevices on the market formany years for assisting invalids to turn pages of a book or a magazine,there has been a need for an inexpensive and satisfactory device toattach each individual page to a turning arm.

Heretofore, when a gummed pressure foot was used, the force applied tothe pressure foot was dependent upon the thickness of the book. Thepressure foot loading depended upon 'how far it had to move with respectto the book support table. The pressure would be high at first for athick book and then as the pages were turned and the book became smallerthe pressure on the foot would be less. While a constant pressure at alltimes is not particularly desirable, as the stickiness 'of the gumvaries with temperature and humidity, it is desired to have an easilyadjustable pressure.

The present invention has a simple and inexpensive adjustable pressuredevice so that the application pressure of the pressure foot against thepage-is always adjustable.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved pressure adjusting device for an automatic page turningapparatus. 7

This and other objects of the present invention will become apparentupon a study of the following specification and drawings, of whichFigure 1 is a schematic representation of the present invention,

Figure 2 is a front view of the automatic page turner apparatus,

Figure 3 is a lower view of the drive mechanism of the page turner,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the adjustable pressure device of thepressure foot,

Figure 5 is :a schematic drawing of the electric control circuit, and

Figure 6 is a more detailed view of the apparatus of Figure 4.

One particular use of the present invention is shown in Figure 1 where aperson confined to bed has only a slight amount of control over one arm.A page turner 10 has a control switch 11 which is operated by the personupon a slight movement of an arm. A horizontal platform or base 12supports a sloped platform 13. The sloped platform is attached at thelower edge to base 12 by a pair of support brackets 14 and 15 soplatform 13 can pivot thereabout. A second pair of brackets and 21attached to base 12 are adjustably attached to the opposite verticaledges of platform 13. Brackets 20 and 21 can be securely fastened toplatform 13 by associated lock nuts 22 and 23, respectively, 'as shownin Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 2, a horizontal slot 24 in platform nalled throughbase 51.

2 13 holds an adjustably positioned page clamp 25 which is tightened tohold the end pages of a magazine 30 to the slope platform. Gear box 31attached'to the lower part of platform 13 has "a cover 32 with an -openportion 33 exposing a moveable 34. Am 34' pivots about a horizontalshaft 35 to lift'a wire-loop holding device 40, shown in Figure 1, fromthe magazine' whenever a page is turned.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2,-an arm 41'is attached to an upper end of ashaft 42 extending upward along platform 13 from the gear box. Arm 41is"adjustable in length. A page attaching device or pressure foot :42 isattached to the outer extremity of 41 byjmeans of a shaft 43. Thus asarm 41 moves f-rorn lefit to right across the top of platform 13, shaft43 which is parallel to platform 13 carries foot 42 over the magazineandagainst the surface of the right hand page. A sticky gum or adhesivematerial 44 is placed on foot 42 so that'it will attach to the rightpage of the magazine and upon areturn movement of arm 41 the page willbe carried along to the left.

Referring to Figure 3, the gear box is shown indetail. A shaft 50journalled through a base 51 is rotated counterclockwise atapproximately six revolutions 'per minute. The power for shaft 50 isobtained from a conventional motor 52 and a reduction gear train 53behind base 51, not shown in Figure 3. Splined on shafit50 is anassembly of a cam 55 and an arrn6ll. Attached to the outer extremity ofarm 60 is a gear rack-61-which engages a gear segment 62 attached toshaft 42, also jour- Upon movement of 60 through one revolution, gearsegment- 62 eanrl' shaiit 42 rotate through a 180 degree anglerrthi sprovidinglthe aforementioned movement for arm 41 across platform li Acam follower 63 engaging cam 55 is attached to an arm 64 fastened toshaft 35 so that upon the counterclockwise rotation of cam 55 it willlift followerlfil near the end of a revolution. This upward movementlifts holding device 40 off the magazine 30-as heretofore mentioned. 64is biased downward -to hold follower '63 against cam 55 by a spring 65.r

I Am 34 i adjustable on shaft se ia-a,nonsmokerrection as shown inFigure 2 so loop 40 can be properly located on the magazine. Am 34 issecured to shaft 35 by a screw 70 as shown in Figure 3. Loop 40 is alsoadjustable in a vertical direction as shown in Figure 2 to be raised orlowered on the magazine. The loop holdin-g device is locked in place onarm 34 by a screw 71. A switch 72 is normally open when operating arm 73is depressed by arm 60 in the starting position, as shown in Figure 3.After a selected movement of arm 73 in a counterclockwise direction uponclosing switch 11, switch 72 closes a holding circuit to maintainoperation of motor 52. The circuit is shown in Figure 5.

Referring to Figures 4 and 6, pressure foot driving arm 41 is attachedto a member by a nut 81. Member 80 is pivotally supported on a pin 82attached to the outer extremity of arm 83. Member 80 has a projectingmember 84 which has a hole 85 at the extreme end. A bracket 90, which isa part of the arm 83 and attached thereto at the extremity of arm 83opposite pin 82, has a pair of upward projecting cars 91 and 92. A screw93 is received by aligned holes 94 and 95 in ears 91 and 92,respectively and passes through hole 85 of member 84 extending betweenthe ears. When shaft 42 rotates arm 83 and bracket move therewith tomove arm 41 from left to right, as shown in Figure 4. Upon pressure foot42 moving against the right page of the magazine, arm 41 stops rotating;however, shaft 42 is adjusted to continue its movement in the samedirection. Member 84 is then moved toward as shown in Figure 2.

3 ear 91. A spring 100 is placed on screw 93 between member 84 and ear91 so that it is compressed between member 84 and a shoulder 101 onscrew 93. As screw Q93 is advanced into the threaded hole 94 in ear 91the spring is compressed against member 84. .;:frce applied to pressurefoot 42 can be adjusted by the minitial compression placed on spring 100by screw 93. As foot 42 engages the magazine and member 84 moves Thusthe toward ear 91 further loading of spring 100 takes place to increasethe pressure of foot 42 on the page. By selecting the initial loading ofspring 100 for a certain thickness of the magazine, the pressure of foot42 can be adjusted and the gummed material 44 can give its bestperformance in adhering to the page throughout the operation of the pageturner.

Shaft 43 is held with respect to arm 41 by a screw 102 received into acollar 103 on shaft 43. Screw 102 projects through an elongated hole 104in the U-shaped' portion of arm 41 so that shaft 43 can be moved througha small angle. Pressure foot 42 will then pull away from the page whenit is in the turned position under the weight of the enlarged head 105of screw 102.

Operation so that arm 41 moves from left to right across the magazine.

As pressure foot 42 presses the gum material 44 against the upper rightportion of the page, it will stick thereto so that the page is turned asarm 41 returns to the initial position on the left side of the magazine,Upon the return movement of arm 41, cam 55 through follower 63 liftsholding .device 4001f of the magazine until the page is turned. Byplacing the magazine on platform 13 so that the center binding isslightly to the right of the shaft 42 the length of arm 41 can be longerthan the width of a page. Thus as the pressure foot moves to the initial"position it will tend to pull the page to the left and gummed material44 will release the page. The weight of head 105 of screw 102 willrotate the pressure foot to the left and it will be out of the way ofthe page and be ready for the next operation.

When arm 41 moves to the right and pressure foot 42 pressures gum 44against the page, initially the pressure on foot 42 depends upon thecompression force of spring which can be changed by screw 93. When foot42 contacts the page in the extreme right hand position, shaft 43continues to move arm 83, as shown in Figure 4, counterclockwise. Thisfurther compresses spring 100 between member 84 and shoulder 101. By theinitial loading on spring 100, the pressure applied to foot 42 and thegum material is selected. This is important as the temperature andhumidity greatly change the pressure foot effectiveness in attaching tothe pages.

Therefore, I claim: t

In an automatic page turning device, a sloped platform adapted tosupport a book, a driving motor, a pivoted arm extending in a planenormal to said platform at an upper edge of said platform, meansconnecting said motor to said arm, a second arm pivotally mounted on anextremity of said first arm and extending in said plane, a pressure footattached to one extremity of said second arm, said pressure footcomprising a predetermined amount of soft adhesive material whereby uponsaid pressure foot contacting the surface of a page of the book saidfoot will adhere thereto to lift a page upon a reverse movement of saidsecond arm, said foot changing shape with excessive pressure uponengaging said page, and adjustable spring means for connecting saidfirst and second arms, said spring means limiting the force that can beexerted by said motor in moving said pressure foot against the pagethereby preventing the deformation of said material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS815,183 Lavin Mar. 13, 1906 2,494,453 Reck Ian. 10, 1950 2,508,913Gorlenko May 23, 1950 2,791,847 Hagman May 14, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS234,706 Germany May 19, 1911

